<p id=”par-1_51″>Some <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/classic-rock/”>classic rock</a> stars produced hits that overshadowed everything else they ever wrote by a country mile. For example, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/cat-stevens-wrote-the-saddest-classic-rock-song-ever.html/”>Cat Stevens’ most famous song</a> is probably “Wild World.” He revealed that the track was intended as a “warning” to someone he knew. He also, at least temporarily, gave the song away.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-cat-stevens-said-wild-world-was-sort-of-a-semi-obituary”>Cat Stevens said ‘Wild World’ ‘was sort of a semi-obituary’</h2>
<p id=”par-2_58″>Stevens gifted the world a number of hit singles, including <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/cat-stevens-wrote-classic-rocks-hypocritical-song.html/?swcfpc=1″>the original compositions “Peace Train,”</a> “Father and Son,” “Matthew and Son,” and “Moonshadow,” as well as his defiantly old-fashioned cover of the <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/cat-stevens-turned-christian-hymn-hit-song.html/”>Christian hymn “Morning Has Broken.”</a> “Wild World” might have overshadowed all of his other hits. Throwback stations seem to play it at least once per day.</p>
<p id=”par-3_64″>During a 2019 interview with <a href=”https://www.songwriteruniverse.com/yusuf-cat-stevens-interview-2019/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>SongwriterUniverse</a>, Stevens discussed the origin of “Wild World.” “‘Wild World’ was sort of a semi-obituary to my love affair with somebody, and it wasn’t very acrimonious … just simply stating a fact,” he recalled. “We were both going in two different directions. But I’d had the taste of the hard life, and I’d already become sick because of it. </p>
<p id=”par-4_60″>“Therefore, I was sending out a warning signal that even though things may look great … you have a lot of fancy clothes and whatever else you want out of life,” he continued. “But don’t forget there’s dangers, too. My message was to her, but also probably to myself, because I was now entering into a new phase of success.”</p>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-wild-world-wasn-t-supposed-to-be-a-hit-for-a-weird-reason”>‘Wild World’ wasn’t supposed to be a hit for a weird reason</h2>
<p id=”par-5_57″>Stevens wasn’t comfortable with “Wild World” at first. He wrote the song during the 1970s — a time when albums ruled the rock ‘n’ roll landscape and you could be seen as a sell-out if you had a hit single. When people started telling Stevens that “Wild World” would make a great single, it gave him pause.</p>
<p id=”par-6_52″>“I was not really looking to go back into the hit single business again,” the singer recalled. “So I gave the song to Jimmy Cliff, who was on the same label as me. I produced it for him and he had the hit. Then later, I regretted it and recorded it myself.”</p>
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<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
<p class=”related-article__title”>
<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/cat-stevens-refused-allow-song-father-and-son-moulin-rouge.html/”>
Why Cat Stevens Refused to Allow His Song ‘Father and Son’ to Be in ‘Moulin Rouge!’ </a>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-how-taking-the-song-back-worked-out-for-cat-stevens”>How taking the song back worked out for Cat Stevens</h2>
<p id=”par-7_75″>Cliff is a reggae artist who never really crossed over to the United States. These days, his recording of “Wild World” is obscure. Stevens’ rendition, on the other hand, is one of the few folk songs that’s ubiquitous. Listeners who are barely familiar with 1970s music can probably sing the chorus of “Wild World.” Something about the tune’s mix of pop, folk, and soft rock gave it a cross-genre appeal that has not gone away.</p>
<p id=”par-8_77″>While the track isn’t too far from the easy-listening music of the time, its darker undercurrent gives it a tiny bit of an edge that you won’t hear in “You Light Up My Life” or “Love Will Keep Us Together.” The palpable sense of anxiety in “Wild World” makes it a little more complex than it might appear on first listen. People who think that Stevens’ music was all cutesy hippie stuff need to rethink that song.</p>
<p id=”par-9_20″>Stevens gave a former lover a warning with “Wild World” — and the wild world couldn’t get enough of it.</p>